A Journey to the End
by nooneushudknow
Summary: Merlin has woken up in his new form as Captain Jack Sparrow and has searched for Arthur, who forgets everything about his old form when he regenerates. Written in first person by Jack of the first time he found Will.


I glanced around the corner and found two guards watching over the streets, and quickly went back into hiding. Why must security be so tight? Pirates aren't that big of a deal; we just like the sea, money, and a life-time supply of rum.

And running around attempting to steal ships and pointing guns at governors' daughters' heads. Oh mother, how I miss you so.

I continued to run and hide as guards kept marching up and down the streets. How long this was going to keep up for I had no idea, but the first thing I had to do was get these stupid manacles off me.

"_Taking stock: you've got a pistol with only one shot, a compass that doesn't point north, and no ship. You are without a doubt the worst pirate I have ever heard of."_

_As much as I wanted to ring this guy around the throat, I only threw up my hands and smiled. "Ah, but you have heard of me." And that is all that matters for a pirate, I thought._

_He hastily grabbed my arm and pulled me to a soldier with a pair of shackles. Well wouldn't this make my day?_

_As the guard approached me with the manacles, the chief hesitated and placed a hand up. "Carefully, lieutenant." Because he is going to need all the care in the world to get my hands in those rings._

_The guard swiftly placed the shackles on me as if I was about to swallow him up like the Kraken if he didn't go any faster. Before I could step forward to make him jump, the young women ran up to the chief. Doesn't he get all the ladies?_

"_Commodore, I must protest. Pirate or not, this man saved my life."_

_I raised an eyebrow, unsure I heard her correctly. Though I did save her from drowning into a thousand leagues under the ocean's surface, I didn't expect her to speak up for my own sake. I think I already liked this girl._

"_One good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness."_

_As the soldier continued to lock my hands together, I responded, "But it seems like enough to condemn him,"_

_When the soldier finally snapped the metal rings around my wrist, I observing my new wrist accessory. Look at that, these really do look quite attractive on my wrists. Before I could appreciate my new fashion bracelet anymore, two guards grabbed my arms and pulled them in back of my head._

_The chief smiled. "Indeed."_

Ugh, thinking about that royal prat just wanted me to gauge my own eyes out, but even if I did want to, that would mean I wouldn't be able to see, which meant getting these manacles off of me would be more difficult. As much as I loved having my arms connected by a rusty chain, I had to get them off. It almost reminded me of the time I was stuck in Morgana's lair, chained up as she placed a Fomorroh in my body, except this time it wasn't as painful. Those were great times though, great times indeed.

Where exactly do I go from here? I examined around me, and to my luck, I found that there was a quaint-looking blacksmith's shop around the corner from where I was. I looked down the street to make sure there were no extra guards heading my direction. As soon as the soldiers swerved around the corner, I stealthily snuck over to the old cabin and opened the door carefully. As soon as it was ajar, I quickly slipped through.

Now this was a nice place for sword fighting. Though there were no windows and barely any light, it certainly would give a man everything he needed to practice a little sword play. The place seemed abandoned, so why not stay there for the night?

The only concern I had though was that everything was in place. Let alone the fact that there were tools still here, everything was perfectly arrayed. There wasn't even a speck of dust to be found on any of the cloths on the furniture. Strange, very strange.

As I continued to look around, a sudden snore came from behind me. I snapped around and was ready to attack with my shackles when I realized that it was nothing more than a drowsy man sleeping on one of the work spaces.

I slowly approached him with caution, making sure I wouldn't wake him up with my footsteps. When I was finally standing right next to him, I thrusted my finger at his face, but he didn't react at all. I tried another poke to the face, and instead he snored aggressively and turned away from me. Talk about a heavy sleeper.

As much as I wanted to continue to play around with the sleeping man, I still had other things to worry about. What was something I could use to get these damn shackles off me? Possibly my sword? Sure metal and metal, perfect. How about the anvil? You're going to attempt to smash a chain with a heavy weight that you can't even carry? Good thinking, Jacky. I looked around to see if there was anything else that could possibly help, and I found a furnace over at a small corner of the room. Fire? I had no answer for myself this time. Perfect.

I took my sword out of its scabbard and took a sledge off of the wall. If nothing can fail me, it's fire, unless it finds its way to the rum and blows the ship up, but other than that, fire is nice.

I strolled over to the furnace and started baking the chain over the fire's heated beauty. As much as the heat around my hands was nice, the metal rings began to burn my skin. I winced, knowing that the pain would be all over once I got the stupid metal pieces off me.

As soon as I thought it was hot enough, I took the chain away from the fire and wrapped it around the nose of the nearest tool I can find. Anvil, perfect! I twisted the chain around the anvil and grabbed the sledge nearby. With a snap, I forced the sledge on top of the chain. I gave the chain another hit and it snapped. I dunked one of my hands in the bucket of water next to me. Well isn't that great, steam is coming out of the manacles.

I took a deep sigh as I finally slipped my hand out of the manacle. I flexed the free hand to make sure it wasn't worn out. It was a wonder I was able to pull out of the manacles with so many bruises.

Before I could even try pulling out the other manacle, the door began to open. I hid for cover, and fell silent as a new body walked into the old shop.

A clear, masculine voice echoed in my ears. "Right where I left you." I looked up to find that a young man was standing next to the old, sleeping one. The unknown man looked around the room and caught sight of the sledge by the furnace.

"Not where I left you," he muttered under his breath. As he moved toward the tool, I instantaneously snapped out of my hiding place and slid my sword under the man's throat. As much as I knew I had to stay in hiding, I wanted to play around with the man. If I got lucky, maybe he was crafty at his swordplay. There is nothing better than having a good fight with a stranger; you never know what they would give you.

The man gave me the coldest look I have ever seen, in fact, a look that was familiar. Way too familiar. I only stared into his eyes, closely observing them. Wait, could this be? His eyes were a different color, but that was definitely the same hard glare. This time his eyes were a dark brown. The first time we ever met, they were light blue, and I would never forget those eyes. Those eyes were what began our whole adventure; the adventure that he would never be able to remember.

This was impossible. I wasn't supposed to meet him until another month. Even though I felt shocked, I showed no emotion. I knew that no matter how much I wanted to smile, no matter how much I wanted to clap him on the back; it wasn't going change that he would never know who I really was.

I held my breath as he finally spoke up. "You're the one they're hunting. You're the pirate."

I frowned and faked a confused look. "You look familiar. Have I threatened you before?" Maybe this time he would remember though. Maybe he remembered something.

"I've made a point of avoiding familiarity with pirates." Same as always: can't remember a thing. I gave a look of mock realization. "Ah. Then it would be a shame to put a black mark on your record, so if you excuse me—"

As I began to walk away, I heard the sound of metal clashing from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to find that his sword was already pointed towards me. I turned towards him completely. Still as arrogant as ever. Yes, this was definitely him.

I decided it was time for me to challenge him. "Do you think this is wise, boy? Crossing blades with a pirate?"

He stepped forward. "You threatened Miss Swan."

"Only a little." I thought what he said through. Could that young woman from before possibly be who I thought she was?

_The royal chief nodded his head and the two soldiers behind me released my arms. Another smart decision made by the commodore._

"_Finally," I muttered. As soon as I had my chance, I snapped a pistol out of one of the soldier's hands which plunged into the ocean's depths and wrapped the shackles around the young woman's neck. The whole army behind the prince pointed their guns at me, but they knew that they couldn't shoot; the woman was a human shield._

"_Commodore Norrington, my pistol and belt, please."_

_The commodore hesitated._

"_Commodore!" I said impatiently._

_He turned to grab my belt from a soldier behind him. When he obtained it, he carefully handed it to me as I only examined it to make sure it wasn't a fake. With a gentle tug, I pressed my lip against my hostage's ear._

"_Elizabeth, it's Elizabeth?" I interrogated, remembering her father's cry when I pulled her up from the sea._

"_Miss Swann," she replied bitterly._

"_Miss Swan," I corrected as she grabbed my belt from the prince. "If you'll be so kind."_

_She turned around so that our bellies were touching. She stared at me in disgust and started tying the belt around my waist. As she continued to do her work, she hissed, "You are despicable."_

_I couldn't resist but to smile. "I saved your life, and now you've saved mine: we're square."_

_When she was finished tying the belt together, she twirled around to the army as I slowly backed up, still with Elizabeth under my chain._

"_Gentlemen ... m'lady ... you will always remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow."_

Gwen. Elizabeth was Gwen.

Everything was starting to connect. Though Gwen's first form was a kind, sweet maidservant, she was now a rebellious governor's daughter, who apparently this man cared for. That would only give the last proof that this man was in fact-

Before I could finish my thought, he already began jabbing me with his sword. In response, I began to slash my sword at his, and we were engaged in battle. Though I was moving as fast as I usually did, he was keeping with every move I made. This definitely had to be him.

I strolled forward as our swords collided, making him step back more and more. As I held my sword back, he made two dangerous swings towards me. I stepped back in surprised. Was it just me, or has he been improving?

We continued to swing our swords, but this time he was pushing me back towards the furnace.

When I felt the heat of the fire behind me, I dropped my guard. "You know what you're doing," I praised him. "I'll give you that. Excellent form, but how's your footwork? If I step here-"

I moved to my right as I swung my sword at him again. At first he struggled to take the blow, but then he immediately adjusted and moved his feet across from mine as we continued to fight.

"Very good! And if I step again, you step again." We continued to border around our imaginary circle, keeping our swords contacted with each others. "And so we circle, circle, like dogs we circle."

I couldn't resist but to imagine myself in the old days when I wasn't even capable of picking up a sword. I remembered the prat trying to teach my how to hold the sword correctly, trying to adjust every arm movement I made in order to make it perfect. I smiled thinking about that day when he even chased me around the castle, trying to get me to practice with him. Now look how far I was. I was able to keep up with his royal pratness. As much as I wanted to laugh out loud, I continued to thrust my sword at him as he kept his pacing with mine.

Though I did want to stay longer to play with him, I still had to run for cover before the chief's guards found me.

"Ta!" I bade. I strolled away from him and jumped onto the door steps. Just as I was about to open the door, a sword sunk into the door near my left ear. I immediately turned my head to realize that it was only a few centimeters off from landing on my head. I stared harder, and I then realized that the sword was also blocking my way from going outside; it had buried itself on the latch. I followed my eyes to the end of the sword until I was able to see the handle. I grabbed the handle and began tugging the sword out of the door. It didn't budge at all. I began yanking the sword off the door rapidly. A silence connected us as I made a failed attempt to detach the sword from the latch. Well isn't this great; I guess I do had to stay there a little longer until I found out how to get out of there, but at that moment, I still had to worry about him.

I returned my attention to the man who gave me a look of impatience. "That's a good trick. Except, once again, you are between me and the way out."

I pointed at the sword that was stuck in the door behind me. "And now you have no weapon."

He instantly spun himself around and picked up a sword that was still blazed with heat. I frowned at seeing his newly obtained weapon, but I still jumped forward to attack him with my own sword.

I instantly side tracked around a pillar and he responded with a spin around the pillar until our swords met once again. Sparks flew as we continued to clash our swords together. He jabbed his heated sword at me as I backfired all of his movements.

After awhile of metal clashing and ashes flying, I jumped onto a pillar behind me to realize that the pillar that I was on was the holder of over thirty polished swords.

"Who makes all of these?" I asked with mild amusement.

"I do," he gloated as he continued swinging our swords. "And I practice with them at least three times a day." I was honestly not surprised. With all of the different forms he has become, he always had an interest in weaponry, but I would never forget the first time we met, when he was throwing his knifes at a poor servant with only a bulk of wood to protect him. I was never sure if it was for practicing or for his own entertainment.

I thought about what he said earlier about Miss Swan. Maybe it's time for him to fess up his feelings for this woman.

"You need to find yourself a girl," I advised him. He tightened his jaw, but I kept going. "Or maybe the reason you practice three hours a day is you've found one, but can't get her?"

Though he kept a good poker face, I could see the steam in his eyes. Hit it spot on.

"No," he replied with more confidence than before. "I practice three hours a day so that when I meet a pirate, I can kill him." Well that backfired quickly.

He stepped forward and swiped his blade at me, but I started moving back, trying to avoid coming to contact with the sharp side of his sword. As I walked backwards, I noticed that I was making my way up a ramp I haven't remembered while being there. As I made it to the top part of the ramp, the stopper at the bottom snapped and the two wheels supporting the plank began rolling, causing the plank to move with it.

Great, not only was I worried about having my arms amputated, but I also had to keep my balance on a moving see-saw. Our blades crossed and the two-wheeled wagon kept rolling. Without thinking, I wrapped the chain that was still on my manacled hand around the man's sword. Before I was able to yank, he threw his sword upward so that it would be stuck on the ceiling above me. I hassled around as my hand was attached to the ceiling by a sword. In desperation, I swung my sword violently with the one hand that was still available to use. Instead of slashing him, I pressed my foot at the bottom of the wagon, hitting the man on the chin and sending him down to the dirt floor.

With as much power as I could, I swung my legs upward on the ceiling and began pulling the sword upside down. I knew he was going to be on his feet again soon enough, so I yanked even harder as I pushed my legs against the ceiling. Instantly, the sword was free from the ceiling, and I fell on one of the ends of the wagon. I tumbled off its side and landed onto the ground filled with hay. Swiftly, I got up, knowing that he would be on me.

I looked around, unsure of where he could have been hiding. I took a glance up and smirked as I realized that he was standing on the wooden planks near the ceiling that were designed in a crossed pattern. There were many gaps in between the planks, so it was easy for someone to lose their balance.

I continued to grin, and I couldn't help but to wonder when he became smarter over the decades. Just when I thought I could walk away, he swung his blade on a rope near him, and a heavy bag descended onto the other end of the wagon. I went flying and landed on one of the planks, barely holding my balance. Wow, this place might be small, but it was one big maze to me.

I steadied myself on one of the slim planks and held the handle of my sword tightly. When I finally balanced myself, I glanced up to find that he was smiling at me. Huh, and I never thought I would see that smile ever again. I jumped from one plank to other, waiting for him to approach me, but he jumped onto the opposite plank that I was on. I jumped again, and he responded with another jump. I knew we had to meet eventually, so I quickly made my way to his plank and thrusted the point of my sword at him. He whipped his blade around my own, and we crossed blades once again, only this time we had to keep our balance on wooden planks twenty feet above the ground.

We continued to swing our blades at each other, and soon enough my blade went flying as he pointed his own towards me. I slowly lifted my hands up in defends, but as soon as he smiled in content, I jumped off the wooden plank and landed on a platform. He too jumped down and made his way towards me, sword in hand. I looked to my right to find that there was a bag of flour waiting for me to use.

With a quick snap, I opened the bag and flour shot out onto the man's face. He whimpered as he attempted to see where he was going, but I had already kicked the sword out of his hand.

I pulled out my pistol and aimed it at his face. When he finally understood what was going on, he glared at me and blocked the only exit I had left.

"You cheated," he accused as I still held the head of the pistol at him.

For such a smart lad, he still didn't seem to understand. "Pirate," I answered.

A sudden bang came from the other door as I heard the sound of people grunting in frustration.

I turned my attention back to the only thing in my way from escape.

"Move away."

"No."

I sighed and relaxed in dismay. "Can you please move?" I asked a little more gently.

"No. I cannot just step aside and watch you escape."

Though I hated the idea of having to shoot him, the only choice I had left was to threaten him even more. As much as I didn't want to hurt him, I had to do something to get him out of the way.

"You're lucky boy, this shot isn't meant for you." Especially not for you.

As I was about to pull the trigger, my vision suddenly went blurry and I dropped to the ground. It was too late, I was hit. I wasn't sure if I was dying or just falling unconscious, but I still had one last thing to say to my friend before I fell asleep.

You really have improved, I thought as I began losing consciousness. I can't wait to see what will come ahead for us, Arthur.

**A/N:** First One-shot! Whoo! This is based on Moonfox's Cracked Nuts Drabble. Originally I was supposed to post this 5 months ago, but never got around to it. I honestly don't know why. Anyway, hope you enjoy, and read Moonfox's Cracked Nuts Collection! It is quite fun to read!


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